


Advanced Introspection with Actionable Applications

by ElasticElla



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: Dreamatorium, Fluff and Angst, Multi, Season/Series 06
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:28:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23632363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElasticElla/pseuds/ElasticElla
Summary: "Rendering environment: Greendale Community College. It’s a sunny day, late April, and most students are outside ignoring their books. Our protagonist is not with the hacky-sack and kite-flying masses, but in a small hidden garden. Begin simulation."
Relationships: Troy Barnes/Annie Edison/Abed Nadir
Comments: 12
Kudos: 61
Collections: What Fen Do (Instead of Going Outside)





	Advanced Introspection with Actionable Applications

**Author's Note:**

  * For [darlingargents](https://archiveofourown.org/users/darlingargents/gifts).



"Rendering environment: Greendale Community College. It’s a sunny day, late April, and most students are outside ignoring their books. Our protagonist is not with the hacky-sack and kite-flying masses, but in a small hidden garden. Begin simulation."

Abed lays in the grass, staring up at the blue sky. Britta’s been going on again about him trying meditation, as if his mind could be quieted so easily. This is the closest he’ll get, it’s nice.

“It’s so peaceful out here. Even without the nirvana trampoline.” 

Abed turns his head to see Annie laying out beside him with a frown. He doesn’t bother creating people to simply validate his opinions, that would be masturbatory. (There’s a gentle flush on Annie’s cheeks and right, not where his mind should be going.)

“Why are you here?” 

Annie laughs, tucking her hair behind her ear. “Don’t you remember silly? Troy is meeting us today.” 

The name lands like a punch in the gut, and before he can react, they’re back at the apartment, Troy hugging him tight. He smells wrong, like the ocean and his muscles are even bigger than before. 

“I’ve missed you so much. I wish I could have sailed the world faster. I can actually talk with L-man now! The name’s still uh, a bit much.” 

“That’s great Troy!” Annie pipes up. 

Abed sits down, needs a moment. Troy hugs Annie next and she’s giggling at something he said, and then he’s dipping her, lips pressed against hers. It’s very old Hollywood picture perfect, and there’s a train whistle screaming in his ears. Not like this, not like this, not like this. 

“Rewind simulation to, Troy’s return,” Abed says, words thick. 

Troy’s hugging him again, arms tight around him. He’s kissing him, and it isn’t the first time, but it’s the first time they’re kissing as Troy and Abed, and Abed doesn’t know what to do with that. His hands feel frozen on Troy’s shoulders. Football shoulders, kegflip shoulders, dancing shoulders, and it’s like his brain is a faulty cdrom from the early 2000s, keeps skipping. 

“I’ve missed you so much man. I lo-” 

“Rewind,” Abed interrupts, the frame freezing and reversing. He hates bottle episodes, why is he still imagining this room, why-

Annie is hugging him this time. Annie is kissing him, softer than before, without any rush or time restraints. Annie is smiling up at him, big Disney eyes full of hope and happiness. (She’s safe, always has been predictable in a comforting way.)

“Troy’s only a week away from sailing home, I have the _best_ welcome home party idea! I’ve been planning it ever since he left,” and there’s a thick binder in Annie’s hands, full of fabric samples and cake photos. It’s obviously a visual reference to a wedding planner, and his mind screeches to a halt. 

“Stop simulation,” Abed says, everything falling away to reveal the dreamatorium’s walls. Something about the simulation still isn’t right, keeps going down unintentional paths. 

Troy and Annie pop in, and that isn’t good, he didn’t specify for them to follow him. His control hasn’t been this off since evil Abed tried taking over. 

“We’ll always follow you. I watched Cougar Town for you, and that show doesn’t have a single cougar! False advertising, it’s like The Breakfast Club all over again. And why isn’t there a brunch club? Brunch is way more fun.”

Neither of them have black felt beards, but it’s still unnerving that they’re here after he dismissed the simulation. 

“You didn’t restart the simulation Abed, you kept rewinding it,” Annie says.

Abed frowns, “You don’t talk like that.” 

Annie rolls her eyes, “I’ve been playing Inspector Spacetime with you for over a year now, I’m allowed to expand my dreamatorium vocab.” 

Troy claps a hand on his shoulder, “What Annie means is, uh, remember the vampire hunter sim? You were annoyed about factual inaccuracies, but we kept modifying and re-rendering because it was fun. We didn’t just change it to donut land the first time beheading didn’t work.” 

“A good land.” Abed pauses, and can’t help agreeing even if the implications are scary. 

Annie pouts, “You know I hate when you two reference scenarios I wasn’t in.” 

“Dude why are you making Annie sound like that? She only does that when she’s around Jeff in freshman year or the blond hippie or the evil hot paintball dude or- ohhh.” 

“Render simulation: Troy’s homecoming.”

They’re back in the apartment, Annie holding his hand, shaking a little bit. 

“What if it’s different? What if he doesn’t lov- care! _Care_ for us anymore? Maybe he met someone on the high seas and he’s going to leave us again. Maybe he isn’t even-” 

Abed presses a finger to her lips, a touch of Don Draper to make her smile. 

“Even if it isn’t the same, Troy will always love us. He needed some time in the world and we can’t- we can’t just lock him away with us forever.” 

Annie sighs with a smile, “You’re sounding like me now.” 

His lips twitch, “I’m sorry for projecting all my anxieties onto you, you’re a really good character for it.”

“Ready to open the door?” 

“Yeah,” Abed says, and Troy rushes in with a huge grin. 

“I’ve missed you so much,” Troy says, wrapping them both up in a tight hug. 

Annie laughs, wiping away tears, “You know, this is exactly what Shirley was worried about when I moved in here.” 

“What?” Troy asks. 

“We have a new simulation to show you,” Abed says, and Troy is super excited and Annie’s happy, and everything is good. 

They don’t actually show Troy the simulation of course, it’s dangerous going too many levels deep into a scenario. Like Inception, but even worse than that over-hyped onion. 

“I love you guys,” Troy says. 

“Aw, we love you too!” Annie replies, and yeah, Abed likes how this one played out. Might stay in it a little longer, even if there isn’t a real plot. Not yet anyways.


End file.
